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Encouraging signs in search for missing sub

<p>An Australian submarine expert said “banging noises” have been detected in 30-minute intervals by rescuers searching for the Titan submersible — “encouraging” rescuers that the five people on board were still alive.</p> <p>The Titan <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/search-underway-for-tourists-missing-on-titanic-submarine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went missing</a> in the Atlantic Ocean on June 18 around one hour and 45 minutes after commencing the dive.</p> <p>Frank Owen, former Australian submarine officer and current search and rescue director, told the <em>New York Post</em> he is confident the noises are coming from inside of the Titan, and those aboard are well trained in emergency submarine situations.</p> <p>“This tells me a huge amount,” he said.</p> <p>“Onboard the Titan is the French former Navy diver, the Titanic expert [Paul-Henri Nargeolet]. But also because he’s a diver, he understands the way search forces look for submarines that are lost … submariners are taught that if they’re stuck in a disabled submarine on the hour and the half-hour they bang the hull for three minutes, then they stop. They don’t make any more noise.”</p> <p>He added, “So the fact that we’re hearing banging at 30-minute internals tells me that the people inside are sending a message that says, ‘We understand that you would be looking for us and this is how you might expect us to react.’ So, it’s very encouraging.”</p> <p>His comment come soon after authorities confirmed underwater “banging noises” were still heard in the area where the submersible disappeared on what proved to be a disastrous dive to explore The Titanic wreckage.</p> <p>In a press conference held in Boston on June 21, The US Coast Guard said that more noises had been detected.</p> <p>“A Canadian P3 detected underwater noises in the search area,” Captain Jamie Frederick said. “It is my understanding that the P3 heard noises today, as well.”</p> <p>He said the attempts to identify the source of the noise had been so far unsuccessful. The Captain was also asked about the 30-minute intervals described in the internal Department of Homeland Security emails, to which he responded, “I hadn’t heard 30-minute intervals.”</p> <p>He also said the data had been sent to the US Navy for analysis proved “inconclusive”. The important piece is we’re searching in the area where the noises were detected,” Captain Frederick said.</p> <p>“We don’t know what they are, to be frank with you. We have to remain optimistic and hopeful,” he said of the noises.</p> <p>Extra ships, specialised salvage equipment and US Navy experts converged on the tough search area in the North Atlantic as rescuers, who have gotten help from around the world, are concentrating their efforts near the sounds.</p> <p>“We’re searching in the area where the noises were detected and we’ll continue to do so,” Captain Frederick said.</p> <p>It comes in the wake of news that rescue crews exploring the depths of the Atlantic will receive help from the Victor 6000 robot — a highly advanced, deep-sea craft and one of the few vessels on Earth capable of reaching the wreck.</p> <p>The Victor 600 is being rushed to the search site aboard French research vessel L’Atalante and was set to arrive about 12 hours before the oxygen supply on the Titan is expected to run out.</p> <p>The Victor 6000 — a three metre long, remote-controlled robot with a bright yellow back has been described as a “flagship device for underwater operations”, by the French network BMTV, and is capable of reaching a depth of 6,000 metres.</p> <p>With the Titanic lying 2,8000 metres beneath the waves on the ocean floor, the craft should have a good chance of reaching it.</p> <p>A rescue would have the Victor 6000 accompany the Horizon Arctic, a powerful tug and supple ship which has a large cable the deep sea craft can take it down with it toward the wreck of the Titanic.</p> <p>Victor 6000 is equipped with a robotic arm, which could be used for dislodging the missing Titan submersible if it is found trapped within the Titanic wreckage.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

News

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Why you should encourage your grandchildren to write stories

<p>In an article published in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41405103" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>Language Arts</em></strong></span></a>, educators who were interested in encouraging children to write were asked why it was important for children to be encouraged to write. Their reasons were varied and interesting, and worth considering for anyone who has a young child in their life – let’s take a look at some:</p> <p><strong>1. To entertain</strong></p> <p>As humans, we tell stories for many reasons, but perhaps the foremost reason is that we want to entertain one another. By encouraging children to write their own stories, they can discover what entertains them, as well as what entertains others – well-told, engaging stories.</p> <p><strong>2. To stimulate the imagination</strong></p> <p>By creating from nothing a story full of characters and original plots, a child’s imagination grows and develops.</p> <p><strong>3. To search for identity</strong></p> <p>When children write their own stories, they can use the conflict and characters to take their first steps on their search for identity. The power simple stories can have on a child’s self-development is remarkable.</p> <p><strong>4. To improve reading and writing skills</strong></p> <p>Children need to read and write, so we may as well find a way to make it more interesting for them. Not only will writing help kids learn how to read, it can also help them understand literary devices (suspense, twist, dramatic irony, etc.), and grammatical structures.</p> <p>Now that we’ve explored some of the reasons creativity in writing in our kids, let’s find some ways to help get them started:</p> <p><strong>5. Inspiration exploration</strong></p> <p>When you’re spending time with your grandchildren, make a game out of looking for fun story inspirations. Interesting newspaper headlines, a unique-looking house, a colouring-in book. You could even keep a box full of story inspirations to explore together with your grandchildren.</p> <p><strong>6. Unblank the page</strong></p> <p>Anyone who has ever sat down to write knows there’s nothing more intimidating than a blank page. To help kids out, try giving them the opening line to a story. You can create these yourself, find a list of opening lines on the internet, or even borrow the opening line of a book on your own shelf.</p> <p><strong>7. Work all of the mind</strong></p> <p>If you find that your grandchildren have difficulty focusing on just words, encourage them to explore other aspects of their own creativity by using visuals. Storyboards, illustrations, or even writing the story as a comic book can help stimulate storytelling.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Banksy encourages stealing from luxury store after unauthorised use of his artwork

<p dir="ltr">Banksy has appeared to encourage shoplifters to target a luxury fashion store in London after they used his artwork without permission. </p> <p dir="ltr">The elusive street artist told his followers on Instagram to go to the Guess store in Regent Street to steal items after they “helped themselves” to one of his most iconic artworks for a recent campaign. </p> <p dir="ltr">Posting a photo of the front window display of the store, he wrote, “Attention all shoplifters. Please go to GUESS on Regent Street.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?” he told his 11.5 million followers. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Guess display, which showcased their capsule collection called Brandalised, features several of Banksy’s works, which he claims were used without his authorisation. </p> <p dir="ltr">The clothing company’s <a href="https://guess-hub.mmbsy.be/guess-in-partnership-with-brandalised-to-create-a-special-capsule-collection-with-graffiti-by-banksy">official announcement</a> for the capsule collection used the word “inspired” and said the items were produced in partnership with Brandalised, an urban graffiti license “whose mission is to offer Banksy fans affordable graffiti collectibles.” </p> <p dir="ltr">“The graffiti of Bansky has had a phenomenal influence that resonates throughout popular culture,” Guess Chief Creative Officer Paul Marciano said in the press release. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This new capsule collection with Brandalised is a way for fashion to show its gratitude.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After Banksy posted the message on Instagram, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63682298">the BBC reported</a> that Guess closed the store, put security outside, and covered the window display.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Instagram / Getty Images</em></p>

Art

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Common ingredient found to encourage aggressive cancer spread

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">New research has found that a fatty acid found in palm oil and dairy products contributes to the aggressive nature of tumours and allows them to spread.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The study from Barcelona’s Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) saw researchers expose samples of mouth and skin cancers to a diet rich in palmitic acid - a major component of palm oil - before transplanting the sample tumours into mice.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world and can be found in food, beauty products, and detergents, according to the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">World Wildlife Fund</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team found that the tumours had a greater capacity to metastasize - meaning they were more likely to spread to other parts of the body.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They also identified that the cancer cells were permanently changed after being exposed to palmitic acid and were able to maintain this improved ability to metastasize months after.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When they compared palmitic acid to linoleic acid and oleic acid - found in ingredients such as olive oil and linseed oil - the team discovered that palmitic acid was the only one to have any effect on the tumours.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWGewZNIOOx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWGewZNIOOx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by IRBBarcelona (@irbbarcelona)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They also found that the fatty acids didn’t increase the risk of developing cancer in the first place.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There is something very special about palmitic acid that makes it an extremely potent promoter of metastasis,” researcher Dr Salvador Aznar-Benitah told </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/10/fatty-acid-found-in-palm-oil-linked-to-spread-of-cancer" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Guardian</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In previous work, the same team showed that there was a correlation between palmitic acid and increased risks of metastasis.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In 2017, we published a study indicating that palmitic acid correlates with an increased risk of metastasis, but we didn’t know the mechanism responsible for this,” Dr Aznar-Benitah </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/news/scientific/palmitic-acid-promotes-cancer-metastasis-and-leaves-more-aggressive-memory-tumour" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">explained</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In their latest study, published in </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04075-0" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, they identified that the altered, aggressive cancer cells attracted the attention of the body’s nervous system and led to the construction of a network of neurons around the tumour, which helps the cancer cells to keep growing and spreading.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, the team found that blocking Schwann cells - cells that surround and protect the neurons - could stop the network from developing and prevent metastasis.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This discovery paves the way for research into and the development of therapies that specifically block cancer metastasis, a process that is almost always the cause of death by cancer,” researcher Dr Gloria Pascual said.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/SalvadorAznar3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SalvadorAznar3</a>: “In this study, we detail the process and reveal the involvement of a metastatic capacity “memory” factor and we point to a therapeutic approach to reverse it. This is promising”. <a href="https://t.co/DW1zOpaIk8">pic.twitter.com/DW1zOpaIk8</a></p> — IRB Barcelona (@IRBBarcelona) <a href="https://twitter.com/IRBBarcelona/status/1458464584113827845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Helen Rippon, the chief executive at Worldwide Cancer Research, praised the work as a “huge breakthrough”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This discovery is a huge breakthrough in our understanding of how diet and cancer are linked and, perhaps more importantly, how we can use this knowledge to start new cures for cancer,” she </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/acid-found-in-palm-oil-encourages-cancer-spread-new-research-finds-c-4543186" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Rippon said about 90 percent of cancer deaths across the world can be attributed to metastasis.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Learning more about what makes cancer spread and - importantly - how to stop it is the way forward to reduce those numbers.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images / @worldwidecancerresearch (Instagram)</span></em></p>

Body

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Jane Fonda releases new exercise video to encourage voting

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Jane Fonda, well known for her exercise videos which were initially released in 1982, has gotten back into the swing of things and released a new video.</p> <p>In her latest Instagram video, she's teamed up with Register2Vote to lead Exercise That Vote, which is a video promoting voter registration and voting on November 3rd in the US election.</p> <p>"Hello, class, we're bringing back the movement," Fonda says as neon graphics fill the screen and '80s music plays in the background. </p> <p>"We need you to be in shape in the upcoming race. I need you to be strong, I need you to be laser focused, I need you to be fully committed to the task at hand, so let's get ready to exercise our right to vote."</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-FJGop3lP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-FJGop3lP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Let’s Get Registered!!!! 💪. We’re getting in shape for the race of our lives this November and it has never been more important to exercise your right to vote. Many states have registration deadlines today so do not wait! Head to the link in my bio and check your registration status now! LET’S DO THIS!!!!! #ExerciseThatVote</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/janefonda/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Jane Fonda</a> (@janefonda) on Oct 5, 2020 at 10:21am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The video features a wide range of celebrities in 1980s workout gear, including Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Ken Jeong, Ashley Benson, Kerry Washington, Amy Schumer and Shaquille O'Neal.</p> <p>"Exercise your glutes, exercise your quads and most of all, exercise your right to vote," Fonda says.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Body

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We asked kids who their favourite teacher is, and why. Here’s what they said

<p>Most of us can remember a favourite teacher. Some of us can also remember a teacher we didn’t get on with or with whom we always seemed to get in trouble.</p> <p>Relationships between students and teachers at school are important. They predict students’ motivation, performance, and expectations of future relationships.</p> <p>We interviewed 96 students from a range of schools in Years 3 to 9. We wanted to find out who students remember as their favourite and least favourite teachers. We also wanted to find out what made those relationships positive or negative.</p> <p>In our study, published in the journal School Psychology Review, all students described similar factors that made them like their teachers — care, kindness and humour.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What we wanted to find</strong></p> <p>Past research shows students with disruptive behaviour are more likely to experience negative relationships with their teachers than their less disruptive peers. Teachers often rate relationships with such students to be low in closeness and high in conflict.</p> <p>But these relationships aren’t always negative. Even self-described troublemakers and class clowns often remember a specific teacher who stood up for them, who took them under their wing, or who changed their perceptions of school for the better.</p> <p>The first group we interviewed consisted of 54 students who had a history of disruptive behaviour, such as acting out in class or being frequently suspended. Around half were in a special behaviour school for disruptive behaviour, and the remainder attended a mainstream school.</p> <p>The second group consisted of 42 students with no history of disruptive behaviour. They were often high achieving (such as school prefects or A-students), and all attended a mainstream school.</p> <p>We were particularly interested in the “magic ingredients” that would support positive student-teacher relationships, even for disruptive students. We also wanted to determine if there were “contaminating ingredients” that could sour these relationships, even for exemplary students.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Who is your favourite teacher?</strong></p> <p>We first asked students if they could remember any teachers they’d had a really good relationship with. If the student replied yes, we then asked what made the relationship good.</p> <p>The reasons students liked teachers were almost identical across groups. Even highly disruptive students bonded with teachers who were caring, kind and funny.</p> <p>One 13-year-old with disruptive behaviour (in a special school) said of their favourite teacher:</p> <p><em>"Every time I’d go there without food … Miss H always used to buy me lunch, let me go on excursions. … I was never allowed to go on an excursion [before] because of my ADHD."</em></p> <p>A 15-year-old with disruptive behaviour (also in a special school) said of their favourite teacher:</p> <p><em>"Mr M, he’s just hilarious. He’s the funniest man on earth. He’s always saying this weird stuff […] walking around with this big puffy jacket, like some kind of Russian guard […] pretending his pencil is a cigar […] we just laugh."</em></p> <p>These answers show how important it is for teachers to separate student disciplinary matters from relationship matters.</p> <p>Around 16% of students highlighted teacher helpfulness, while 10% highlighted effective teaching, as a key advantage of their favourite teachers.</p> <p>One 12-year-old without disruptive behaviour said about their favourite teacher:</p> <p><em>"She gave me and some of the other smart kids harder work. [I liked that] because it challenges me."</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What causes conflicts?</strong></p> <p>We next asked students if they could remember any teachers they really didn’t get on with or clashed with. If a student replied yes, we asked what sort of things would bring that on.</p> <p>While not all students could remember a teacher they clashed with, a large proportion of each group could.</p> <p>Students in both groups overwhelmingly agreed on the key factors contributing to negative relationships.</p> <p>Across groups, 86% highlighted instances where they had perceived the teacher being unnecessarily hostile towards them, or where they felt they were treated unfairly.</p> <p>One 13-year-old with disruptive behaviour (in a mainstream school) said:</p> <p><em>"I usually have my earphones in and I just sit there and just listen to music […] she just like opened the door, seen me listening to music […] She comes up, grabs the earphones, she just rips them out of my ear [pretend shouting] ‘Listen to the teacher!'"</em></p> <p>A 16-year-old with disruptive behaviour (in a special school) said:</p> <p><em>"She just used to pin stuff on me. If I done the littlest thing wrong and someone done somethin’ major wrong, she would […] go for me first […] She just hated me, and I hated her."</em></p> <p>Another 10-year-old with no disruptive behaviour said:</p> <p><em>"She was always yelling […] Because she gave us a real hard book, and we were only in Year 1, and we couldn’t really read it that good […]"</em></p> <p>Frequently, students’ descriptions of unfair treatment included pre-emptive punishments and reprimands:</p> <p>One 15-year-old with disruptive behaviour (in a special school) said:</p> <p><em>"Well, I remember one time that, like, I went inside the classroom and she just, like, came up to me and she was like, you had better not talk this lesson and I wasn’t even talking at all."</em></p> <p>Another 15-year-old with disruptive behaviour (in a mainstream school) said:</p> <p><em>"Well, she always picked me out, as well, for misbehaving, so I got in a lot of trouble for that, but […] like, a lot of people were just doing a lot worse than I was doing, but she was like, no, no, you’ve been bad before."</em></p> <p>A 12-year-old with no disruptive behavior (in a mainstream school) said:</p> <p><em>"Every time I did something in the playground that was good, someone told her I’d done something bad and [Miss C] always believed them."</em></p> <p><strong> </strong><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>What teachers can take from this</strong></p> <p>Based on our research, below are some things teachers and parents can do to promote positive relationships with teachers for the young people in their care.</p> <ol> <li>Remember empathy and humour go a long way to building positive relationships with students. Caring about students as individuals genuinely does break down barriers. Most teachers already report caring deeply for their students. It may simply be a matter of making one’s acts of kindness and care more visible<br /><br /></li> <li>Consider how warnings are given. Students benefit when they are allowed to start the day with a clean slate, and when reprimands are held back until an offence has actually been committed<br /><br /></li> <li>Separate classroom management from relationship building. Students who are most disruptive are also often the ones who could use a positive relationship the most<br /><br /></li> <li>Parents can help by encouraging students to reflect on their relationships with teachers. Sometimes situations are ambiguous, and understanding a teacher’s perspective may help in interpreting situations that would otherwise feel unreasonable to a young person. Students and teachers both win when they work on the same team.</li> </ol> <p> </p> <p class="p1"><em>Written by Misha Ketchell. This article first appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-asked-kids-who-their-favourite-teacher-is-and-why-heres-what-they-said-145093">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p> </p>

Relationships

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Woman makes ‘monstrous’ knitted masks to encourage social distancing

<p>An Icelandic woman has promoted social distancing through a novel, innovative way: knitting.</p> <p>Knitwear designer Ýrúrarí Jóhannsdóttir has gone viral after sharing her knitted masks and other isolation creations on social media.</p> <p>The 3D masks – which feature knits of mouths, teeth and jutting tongues – have been described by fans as “grotesque”, “<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/icelandic-knitwear-designer-tongue-masks-yrurari-johannsdottir">trippy</a>” and “<a href="https://10daily.com.au/news/a200505cmtfy/woman-makes-grotesque-knits-to-scare-people-into-social-distancing-20200505">freakish</a>”.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DKJ3xgUWt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DKJ3xgUWt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">I’ve been experimenting with some of my sweater ideas to wear on a face, always interesting to see the outcome 👽 It has been fun to see masks inspired by mine, good use of quarantine time to knit💜But a reminder again, my masks are not made for safety, knitted masks are not safe to start with! Take care 🦠❌🦠❌🦠 #mask #knitting #fashionforbankrobbers</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/yrurari/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Ýrúrarí</a> (@yrurari) on Apr 16, 2020 at 10:00am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-4JbBOABY5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-4JbBOABY5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Ýrúrarí (@yrurari)</a> on Apr 12, 2020 at 3:22am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The 27-year-old designer said she has always been interested in tongues because “they are kind of rude, sticky, and strange”.</p> <p>She extended her work from sweaters to face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>“I didn’t really make the masks to wear,” she told <em><a href="https://mashable.com/article/knitted-face-mask-tongue-lips/">Mashable</a></em>. “In my mind they are more like wearable sculptures, not made for safety [but] more as a fun approach to the rule of keeping distance.”</p> <p>“If you look scary enough people will stay away!”</p> <p>Jóhannsdóttir said the masks promoted the idea that “using masks can be fun”.</p> <p>“Everything we put on us can also be fun if we want it to, and bringing smiles to people’s faces in times like these is also important,” she told <em><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/icelandic-knitwear-designer-tongue-masks-yrurari-johannsdottir">Vogue</a></em>.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_PcEsSAByb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_PcEsSAByb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Ýrúrarí (@yrurari)</a> on Apr 21, 2020 at 4:27am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_aQTE0gOyo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_aQTE0gOyo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Ýrúrarí (@yrurari)</a> on Apr 25, 2020 at 9:16am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote>

Art

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Neil Diamond reworks ‘Sweet Caroline’ to encourage hand washing

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has joined a growing number of actors and musicians that are encouraging persistent hand-washing and social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>He posted a video on Saturday night of him at his home playing “Sweet Caroline”.</p> <p>“I know we’re going through a rough time right now, but I love you, and I think maybe if we sing together we might feel a little bit better,” he says during the video.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Stay safe out there! “Hands... washing hands..” 🎶 <a href="https://t.co/QaRB1qZshp">pic.twitter.com/QaRB1qZshp</a></p> — Neil Diamond (@NeilDiamond) <a href="https://twitter.com/NeilDiamond/status/1241584423927074818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Diamond proceeds to sing the opening verse of “Sweet Caroline” with the revised chorus, saying “Hands, washing hands, reaching out, don’t touch me, I won’t touch you!”</p> <p>The video has racked up more than 1.2 million views on Twitter alone.</p> <p>Diamond is just one of many musicians that are taking to social media to perform for their followers, with John Legend and Chris Martin recently performing a mini concert in their homes for their followers.</p> <p>Actors, such as Josh Gad, are using the time in quarantine to do daily book readings for kids and adults.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Music

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Grandma’s daily encouraging texts to grandkids

<p dir="ltr">In a time where young people are suffering with more with depression and anxiety than ever before, this grandma is making sure that her grandchild knows she's loved.</p> <p>Sierra Sessions from Salt Lake City shared a range of photos revealing the messages that her grandma sends her every day.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/seesesh">@seesesh</a> you guys.... 😭😩 <a href="https://t.co/t005o5Wilu">pic.twitter.com/t005o5Wilu</a></p> — Sierra Sessions (@seesesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/seesesh/status/834581525622554624">February 23, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>“My grandma sends me these every day. She is the purest thing on the earth and we have to protect her at all costs,” Sierra wrote on Twitter.</p> <p>The photos show her grandma telling Sierra that she loves her from various locations the grandma visits in her day.</p> <p>Do you send similar messages to your loved ones? Let us know in the comments below. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/grandma-paints-from-hospital-bed/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>83-year-old gran creates stunning paintings from hospital bed</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/waitress-donates-kidney-to-her-customer/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Waitress donates kidney to her customer</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/girl-moves-birthday-party-to-nursing-home/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Girl moves 10th birthday party to her grandma’s nursing home</strong></em></span></a></p>

News

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Why you should encourage older loved ones to exercise

<p>We don’t need to tell you that exercise is good for your health, we all know it by now! Unfortunately, many people are still not getting enough – if any – exercise, and countless studies have shown that as we age, the benefits of regular exercise increase. With life expectancy continuing to grow towards the 100 mark, it’s safe to say your 60s and 70s are the new 40s and 50s! However, that doesn’t mean exercise can’t play an important role as we enter our 80s and beyond. So, if you have a loved one who thinks that being an octogenarian or nonagenarian is an excuse to sit on the sidelines, we’re about to prove them wrong!</p> <p>Let’s take a look at some of the surprising ways regular exercise can maintain and improve our health as we get older.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Improved balance</strong> – if you’ve cared for an elderly parent before, you’ll know just how crippling a fall can be. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to prevent falls, thanks to some smart and easy yoga moves. Last month, Tracy Adshead, a specialist in senior yoga, gave us her tips for improving balance. <a href="/health/body/2016/05/how-to-improve-your-balance-with-yoga/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Click here</span></strong></a> to check it out.</li> <li><strong>Fighting cancer</strong> – yep! New research has shown that exercise can help people suffering from cancer and the side effects of treatment. In a recent <a href="/health/body/2016/05/exercise-is-a-new-contender-in-the-fight-against-cancer/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">TED Talk</span></strong></a>, Exercise Physiologist Prue Cormie shared some of her exciting findings into the role of exercise in cancer management.</li> <li><strong>Improved posture</strong> – many people believe poor posture is just a part of getting older, but it’s actually a result of poor exercise and weight distribution. Having good posture is essential to prevent back pain, something which affects a staggering <a href="http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/back-pain" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>4 in 5 of us</strong></span></a>. <a href="/health/body/2016/04/pilates-moves-to-improve-posture/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Click here</span></strong></a> to learn some simple pilates moves to help improve posture.</li> <li><strong>Prevention and treatment of diabetes</strong> – that’s right, you can actually prevent and treat diabetes with some easy yoga poses. Studies have shown that yoga is an effective way to control blood glucose levels and improve nerve function. Tracy Adshead <a href="/health/body/2016/04/yoga-poses-that-treat-and-prevent-diabetes/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">offers some great tips</span></strong></a> for diabetics and prediabetics.</li> <li><strong>Lower risk of anxiety and depression</strong> – Given that a record number of us are suffering anxiety and depression, it’s never been more important to ensure we get a head start and begin preventing and treating mental illness at the onset. <a href="/health/body/2016/04/workouts-to-beat-anxiety/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">These three</span></strong></a> research-backed exercises are perfect for preventing and treating anxiety and depression.</li> </ul> <p>Does your elderly loved one get enough exercise? Let us know how they motivate themselves in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/health/body/2016/05/how-to-improve-your-balance-with-yoga/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to improve your balance with yoga</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/body/2016/05/exercise-is-a-new-contender-in-the-fight-against-cancer/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Exercise is a new contender in the fight against cancer</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/body/2016/05/workouts-for-people-who-dont-like-getting-sweaty/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Workouts for people who don’t like getting sweaty</strong></em></span></a></p>

Caring

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15 ways to encourage kids outdoors

<p>Recent research has found that children spend up to 55 hours a week using electronic devices. This comes at the expense of other type of play, particularly outdoor activities. Encourage the kids in your life outside and away from the iPad with these nifty ideas.</p> <ol> <li>Go on a treasure hunt</li> <li>Create a scavenger hunt with prizes for the most unique object</li> <li>Go on a photo safari</li> <li>Plant or tend to a veggie garden</li> <li>Collect different objects from the outdoor environment and use them as part of craft activities</li> <li>Go for a walk or bike ride around your neighbourhood</li> <li>Go exploring on a rainy day. Puddle jumping essential!</li> <li>Get dirty – Mud pies and pits, sand castles, hand kids a shovel and they’ll be on their way</li> <li>Build a fort the traditional way with sheets, pillows and rods for structure</li> <li>Set up a tent and go camping in your backyard (either for the afternoon or overnight if you’re feeling brave!’)</li> <li>Watch the clouds and talk about the shapes they make</li> <li>Go foraging – If you live in an area that is naturally abundant, go for a wander and see what you can score!</li> <li>Climb a tree</li> <li>Start a rock collection together, and add to it every week!</li> <li>Create a nature notebook together and work on adding regular entries.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/04/dont-praise-clever-kids-and-celebrating-effort/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Why we shouldn’t praise clever kids and start celebrating effort</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/03/things-not-to-say-when-disciplining-kids/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 things you should not say when disciplining kids</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/03/kids-getting-meaner/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Are our kids getting meaner?</strong></em></span></a></p>

Family & Pets

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Amelia Earhart's sweet advice to a young lady who aspired to be a pilot

<p><span>Who better to give advice on becoming a pilot than Amelia Earhart herself! The pilot broke new ground for women in aviation after becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.</span></p> <p><span>Amelia Earhart wrote a letter of encouragement to a 13-year-old female fan in 1933, where Earhart explained the steps required to become a pilot.</span></p> <p><span>In the letter Earhart offers tips prior to becoming a pilot, such as undertaking a physical examination from a physician in the Department of Commerce before being cleared to fly. Earhart also encouraged her fan to enter the aviation industry by other means, doing clerical work or working in factories. She also offers to answer any other questions her teen fan has. Our favourite quote from the letter would have to be her optimism about women progressing in the field of aviation.</span></p> <p><em>“As far as women’s opportunities in flying go, I think they will improve as they have in all industries. Just now there are no pilots on the regular scheduled airlines, someday I suspect there will be”</em></p> <p><span>The letter, which can be purchased from The Raab Collection for $15,000, was written just four years before Earhart disappeared in her attempt to fly solo around the world.  </span></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/01/find-cat-hiding-in-this-kitchen/">Can you find the cat hiding in this kitchen?</a></strong></em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/01/man-leaves-wife-at-service-station/">Man accidentally leaves wife at service station, drives 100km before realising</a></strong></em></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2016/01/25-worst-online-passwords-used-in-2015/">25 worst online passwords used in 2015</a></strong></em></span></p> <p> </p>

News

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105-year-old nun sends letters of encouragement to prisoners

<p>A Minnesota nun who just celebrated her 105<sup>th</sup> birthday says age won’t stop her from her most treasured project of sending letters of encouragement to prison inmates.</p> <p>Sister Mary Mark has been writing letters to prisoners for over two decades, and has implored others to follow suit.</p> <p>"I surely do enjoy writing the letters and I've been doing it for many years," she told ABC News. "They're in prison, but they're working. They hope to make it. Other people have asked me for names, so that they could write to them [the inmates] too."</p> <p><img width="292" height="373" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/14038/nun-105.jpg" alt="Nun 105" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>Sister Mary Mark, who has been a nun for over 80 years, originally started the letter writing project after responding to a notice in a newspaper enlisting pen pals for prison inmates.</p> <p>Kathleen Conrad, pastoral care coordinator of Carondelet Village in St. Paul where Sister Mary Mark lives, says, "I think at one point she was writing to about 50 prisoners.</p> <p>"When she was 89 years old she was called down to Oklahoma to testify on behalf of a prisoner on death row because she had been writing to him for such a long time."</p> <p>"She says she just offers [the inmates] love and encouragement and let's them know that they're not alone," Conrad added.</p> <p>The centenarian says she’d be happy spending many more years on Earth as long as she can still write her letters.</p> <p>“As long as I can write, I’ll do it,” she said.</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/01/worlds-happiest-countries-in-2015/">These are the happiest countries in the world</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/01/older-generation-better-at-learning/">Older generations better at learning than everyone else</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/01/tips-for-being-a-good-person-today/">8 ways to be a good person today</a></em></strong></span></p> <p> </p>

News

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Helen Mirren encourages everyone to marry later in life

<p>Helen Mirren believes marrying later in life “is a very good idea”, revealing in September that she is grateful she waited until she was 52 before tying the knot.</p> <p>The 70-year-old actress said, “I think marrying late is a very good idea – it worked out for me. In general, I'd say it's not a great idea to marry young. And it's a really terrible idea to get married for the frock.”</p> <p>Mirren, who married director Taylor Hackford in 1997 after 11 years of dating, said too many young people are rushing down the aisle.</p> <p>“Girls nowadays have a princess complex – they’re longing to have the gorgeous dress, be the centre of attention and live the dream for 24 hours,” she told the Daily Mail’s You Magazine.</p> <p>Mirren has previously spoken about her first meeting with Hackford on the set of White Nights in 1985, saying, “We have the advantage of coming upon each other later in life.”</p> <p>She believes that if they had met earlier, the relationship may not have last.</p> <p>“I said when we got together, ‘Oh, I can’t believe it. Why didn’t we get together when we were in our 20s? We missed all that time,’” she revealed.</p> <p>“He said, ‘If we got together in our 20s we wouldn’t be together now.’ And he was absolutely right.”</p> <p>The Oscar-winner has also announced that for her sex improves with age. She revealed that sex in her youth was “paranoid and empty” whereas in the past couple of decades sex has become “great, just wonderful.”</p> <p>Mirren comments are a good reminder that despite all of society’s messages to the contrary, marriage and sex aren’t in the domain of the young, and perhaps the older you get, the better those two things may be. And if it’s coming from Dame Helen Mirren, we’re inclined to agree.</p>

Relationships

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How to encourage little ones to try new foods

<p>If you have little kids in your care, you’ll know how tough it can be sometimes to get them to try new foods.</p> <p>Spitting it out, hiding it, or just flat out refusal are all perfectly common. Here we have some tips for encouraging even the fussiest of fussy eaters.</p> <p><strong>Grow your own</strong></p> <p>Kids love to see where their food comes from. Make a special space in the garden for basil, salad leaves, cherry tomatoes or cucumbers. Let the children help you plant the seeds and tend to them when they visit. Make a big deal about harvesting the fruits of your labour and talk about how you are going to use their special vegetables to make their lunch. By making a fuss of the great work they’ve done looking after the food, it could help tempt them to give it a try.</p> <p><strong>Have them help prepare it</strong></p> <p>For some children, they like to be involved in the preparation of food in order to be interested in tasting it. So try cooking something fun that they might enjoy helping you with. It could be pita bread pizzas (the kids can add their own toppings) or have them choose three things from the kitchen to pack into a picnic to take to the park.</p> <p><strong>Set a good example</strong></p> <p>Little ones learn a lot by quietly observing us. So make a point of letting everyone at the table know how important it is to set a good eating example in front of the fussy eater. You could talk about the fact that you love eating eggs because they are full of protein to make you big and strong. Another idea is asking someone that the child looks up to or admires to mention how much they like a certain food that the child won’t try. This could be enough to tempt them to give it a little try.</p> <p><strong>Try new serving ideas</strong></p> <p>If the children only like certain things, why not try cooking variations of it containing the foods you want them to try. It could be spaghetti Bolognese with loads of sneakily grated carrot and zucchini in it; burgers with a mixture of mince and lentils; or a pasta bake that contains the goodness of pureed pumpkin mixed with the pasta sauce. </p>

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